Vallejo Times-Herald
June 7 2009
Saroyan retiring after time of his life
By Mary Enbom/Times-Herald city editor
Posted: 06/07/2009 12:00:52 AM PDT
Tears rolled down Doris Le’s face as she reminisced about the day last
year when she walked into Vallejo High School principal Phil Saroyan’s
office, worried she’d face "an angry bull."
Le recently finished her freshman year at Harvard University, and
stopped by unexpectedly to visit her former principal, who retires in
a few days after
36 years as a local educator.
When Le showed up, Saroyan had a final newsletter to finish, a
computer data glitch to fix, a reporter waiting to interview him and
an upcoming volleyball game to play between staff and seniors.
But he put them all on hold to spend more than an hour with her.
As a senior, Le led a highly publicized student campaign against
unsanitary bathrooms. She said she was blasted by some district
administrators, and even some classmates, after submitting a petition
signed by 800 students,demanding the school board hire more custodians
to clean the bathrooms more often. Some critics said she made the
school look bad, and since Saroyan may have been put in a
politically difficult position, she worried she’d get backlash from
him, too.
"I walked in and he just smiled at me, offered me a seat and asked me,
‘How are YOU?’ Not, ‘How is the situation?’ or ‘Why didn’t you come to
me first?’ but, ‘How are YOU?’ " Le said.
"It’s so representative of how he cares about each student as an
individual. Regardless of being really busy, he always makes a point
to know how you’re doing — emotionally, academically and personally."
After more than three decades in education, the 61-year-old says the
job has added challenges since he started, but kids haven’t changed
much.
"For the most part, kids are kids. They still need the loving, caring
attention of adults," he said.
The world, however, has become more complex, especially since the
economy tanked, and that’s impacting students, he said.
"More kids come to school hungry. More kids need clothes. Fewer can
afford to participate in activities because of finances. There’s a
tremendous number of homeless kids now. More and more have to work to
support their family," Saroyan said.
Befriending students is Saroyan’s signature, and he often gets former
students — including New York
Yankees ace pitcher CC Sabathia — dropping by years later to visit.
Saroyan, who grew up in Vallejo, rarely goes anywhere in town "without
someone yelling out, ‘Hi Mr. Saroyan!’ " his daughter Nicole Saroyan
wrote in her father’s last newsletter. He calls the newsletter, which
he began 25 years ago, "the Armenian Times," after his ethnicity, and
sends it to parents, staff, alumni and friends, locally and
nationwide.
A 1965 Vallejo High graduate, Saroyan considered it his dream job when
he became principal of his alma mater 15 years ago.
He said he had two goals: to restore a feeling of "family" among the
faculty, because a Vallejo City Unified School District teachers
strike had just ended, and to boost student achievement.
He said he worked hard to create a caring place where staff and
students could thrive. Test scores, measured by the state’s Academic
Performance Index, rose 100 points in nine years, he said. Last year,
Vallejo High jumped from a 3 to 9 on a 10-point scale comparing
schools with similar demographics, he said.
The job has come with some grief: education’s struggle to secure
enough state funding ("It’s deplorable not to have a full-time
librarian"); students who dropped out ("It’s always disappointing");
and the occasional death of a student or staff member ("These are the
most difficult"). The job’s round-the-clock demands also have been
hard on family at times, he said.
But he said it’s still his dream job, and "I still love it. I’m still
very happy. I couldn’t ask for a better staff of teachers, counselors
and support staff."
He has high praise for Vice Principal Lloyd Cartwright, who will take
the post on an interim basis next school year. "If some dog were
coming in here besides Lloyd, I’d consider staying," he said.
Teacher Jack Gillepsie said he’d be the first to make a "ball and
chain, or ankle bracelet to chain him to the desk" to make him stay.
"When I’ve needed to be called on the carpet, he’s always done that in
a way that’s not demeaning or threatening," Gillepsie said. "When I’ve
come to him with workable solutions, he’s backed me up. If there’s an
issue I needed to fix but couldn’t see a solution, he has had two or
three ideas to help find a solution that worked best."
Mixed feelings about leaving?
"No, it’s time," Saroyan said. "I’ve planned this for a long time."
He said he may do some consulting, helping high school administrators
analyze data and improve test scores.
He also plans to do more fishing and mountain climbing — a sport he
took up in recent years — and spend more his time with family,
especially his grandchildren.
What will he miss most?
"Graduation, absolutely!" he said, lifting both hands into the
air. "That’s what we’re all about — getting these kids to Corbus
Field, getting them started in a new phase in their lives."
As Saroyan starts the newest phase of his own life, he said he has
only one regret that "I didn’t start mountain climbing sooner."
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